William mason



No. 625,58l. Patented May 23,1899. W. MASON.

GUARD FOB FRONT SIGHTS 0F FIREARMS.

(Applicltion filed. In. 6, 1898.)

(No Model.)

TN: NORRIS Pmns ca. Moro-Lima. vnsumc'ron. o. c.

U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM MASON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WINCHESTERREPEATING ARMS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

GUARD FOR FRONT SIGHTS OF FIREARMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 625,581, dated May 23,1899.

Application filed January 6, 1898- Serial No. 665,727. (No model.)

T0 on whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MAsoN, of New Haven, in the county of NewHaven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement inGuards for the Front Sights of Firearms; and I do hereby declare thefollowing, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings andthe letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of thisspecification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a broken view,in side elevation,of a gun having its frontsight provided with my improved guard; Fig. 2, a view of the gun infront elevation, showing the barrel, sight, and guard only.

My invention relates to an improvement in guards for the front sights offirearms, the object being to protect such sights against injury ordisplacement either during use of the arms or in transporting them.

With these, ends in view my invention consists in certain details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafterdescribed, and pointed out in the claim.

In carrying out my invention as shown in the drawings my improvedsight-guard is formed by bending a suitable narrow strip of sheet metalso as to form a guard-loop A, the forward and rear edges of which arebeveled, so that it tapers from its base to its top, and two bowedclasping-arms A A, which are shaped to conform to the curvature of thegun-barrel B, upon which they are firmly clasped by means of twohorizontallyarranged binding-screws C C, located,as it were, at thebases of the arms A A and in position to pass over the upper face of thebarrel. These screws are arranged adjacent to the front and rear edgesof the block-like base D of the sight E, so that the guard as a whole ispositively held against moving either forward or rearward upon thebarrel or from sidewise deflection thereupon, the said screws preventingthe guard from moving forward or rearward and the legs of the guard-loopbeing so firmly drawn by the screws against the sides of the sight-baseas to prevent the guard from sidewise deflection.

I may here remark that the sight-base D and the sight E may be of anyapproved construction, the base D being slipped horizontally into anundercut groove d, formed in the upper face of the barrel and secured inplace by brazing in the usual manner, or the base may be formed integralwith the barrel or secured thereto in some other manner. I may alsoremark that instead of employing two binding-screws C C one or both ofthem may be replaced by rivets, though when two rivets are employed theguard cannot be so easily removed as when secured in place by two screwsor by one screw and one rivet.

My improved guard when constructed as above described affords aneffective protection for the sight at all times and may be applied tothe gun after it has been entirely completed and without marring the gunor injuring or disfiguring any of its parts.

I am aware, however, that it is old to secure a sight-guard in placethrough the medium of its base and that sheet-metal guards for the frontsights of firearms are old and also that they have been secured in placethrough the medium of the bases of front sights.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination with the front sight of a firearm, of a block-like basein which the sight is located, and which is adapted to be secured to themuzzle end of a gun-barrel, a sheet-metal sight-guard comprising aguardloop the sides of which hug the sides of the said base, and alsocomprising two bowed retaining-arms which clasp the gun-barrel, and tworivets or screws passing through the guard in position to engage withthe front and rear edges of the said block-like base, whereby the guardis prevented from moving either forward or rearward upon the barrel, asWell as prevented from sidewise deflection.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM MASON. Witnesses:

DANIEL I-I. VEADER, THOMAS C. JOHNSON.

